'Baywatch' actor Zac Efron is leading the cast of the movie 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile' based on the life of serial killer Ted Bundy

Zac Efron is to take on the role of real life serial killer Ted Bundy in 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile'.

The 29-year-old actor will lead the cast of the new movie by 'Paradise Lost: The Child of Murders at Robin Hood Hills' director Joe Berlinger who will tell the shocking true story of Bundy, who raped and murdered numerous young women during a killing spree in the 1970s that shocked America and the world.

Producer Nicolas Chartier spoke to Deadline and said: "Efron can play both the depth and the charm that this guy had in equal measures which allowed him to manipulate these women in such a terrifying way."

Efron shot to fame in Disney franchise 'High School Musical' and since then has taken on a series of comedic roles including starring in movies such as 'Bad Neighbours' and 'Dirty Grandpa' but this part marks a complete change in tone for him.

The Hollywood Reporter say the script will be written by Michael Werde and is set to explore the crimes of the killer through the eyes of Bundy's long-time girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer.

Although years of denying his murders, Kloepfer eventually turned him into the police and she only found the true extent of his actions until he began talking about them closer to his execution.

Chartier and Ara Keshishian from Voltage Pictures is reported to be backing the movie and it is set to start filming in October.

Efron is next to be seen starring opposite Dwayne Johnson in the movie reboot of 'Baywatch' and will also star in the upcoming musical 'The Greatest Showman ' with Hugh Jackman marking the first time Efron has been seen in a musical since 'Hairspray' back in 2007.